Cherry Amber

The color and the degree of transparency of amber depend on the size and pattern of trapped bubbles. In general, the greater the density of gas bubbles the lighter the color or amber piece. Deep red, dark amber is often called ‘cherry amber’. It is one of the most beautiful colors of amber and for ages has been considered special. Although it is one of the rarest and most expensive types of amber, cherry amber became popular in China in the eighteenth century and was used for jewelry and decorative objects. It is believed that most of the red cherry amber was imported from Burma.

Cherry amber usually occurs in small quantities and is very expensive. Only about one in every two hundred amber pieces is red. It is known that Romans were treating Baltic amber to improve its color. They could darken its surface by boiling in pig fat or rapeseed oil. Today, jewelers use advanced treatment techniques to enhance the color and obtain perfect cherry amber. Very often amber undergoes a heat treatment in autoclave which results in a clarified material. The intensity of dark red color depends on the length of treatment. The darkened surface can only be removed by re-polishing.
Since natural cherry amber is sought after there are many synthetic imitations on the market for much lower price. In general fake amber is too perfect. Natural amber is rarely free of inclusions and/or imperfections. Also, a low price can be considered a warning sign. It is best to buy from reputable sources.